LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK TWP. — The local police department will not see changes in command structure, municipal officials said.

The LAC Police Department has been a hot topic in the township since 2009 after the position of public safety director was created.

In September, the township committee began discussing whether or not the department would continue to be headed by the safety director or, instead, the highest ranking officer.

However, Mayor Robert Breslin III recently confirmed that the command structure will remain as is, with Public Safety Director David Sowers heading the LAC Police Department.

Sowers has been the director since the township created the position in 2009.

In the role, Sowers runs the police department but is not involved in day-to-day police activity such as street patrols and arrests. Because of the responsibility and role of the public safety director, Breslin said, there was some question about what a director could tell sworn police officers to do.

Since the township committee could not reach a unanimous decision on the command structure, things will remain the same.

Had things changed, the township committee discussed increasing the responsibility of the highest ranking officer in uniform and, had the movement been successful, it would set in motion a promotion of Sgt. First Class Brett Widger or Detective Sgt. Richard Venable Jr.

According to Breslin, two different solicitors examined the options and, as a result, advised that Committeeman Richard Venable abstain from any action because it would be a "conflict of interest." Venable's son is the LAC detective sergeant.

Committee members Ellen Pompper and Timothy Bradway supported shifting responsibility to the highest ranking officer, while Breslin and Jeffrey Palombo did not.

Had power shifted in the police department, the staff would have been given more responsibility through promotion, then an increase in wages. Promoting an officer in rank allows for a raise, according to Breslin.

Sowers' contract does not expire for at least another year. He has served as public safety director for almost five years.

The last police chief in the department was Lee Peterson, who retired in 2009.

LAC Township Committee also approved an amendment to an ordinance that added Elmer to the Salem Municipal Aid Agreement providing inter-municipal police assistance.

All police departments in the county have mutual assistance agreements to back each other up, Breslin explained.

LAC has always backed up Elmer but due to being overlooked in the past, the borough was never written in to the ordinance.

"We want our ordinance to reflect actual practice," Breslin said.

Township committee approved the amendment unanimously with one abstention from Venable.

The LAC Police Department covers the township as well as Elsinboro, also assisting neighboring towns of Salem County as needed.

There are currently only two municipal police departments in Salem County headed by a public safety director — LAC and Woodstown.